Baby red foot lethargic, not moving or eating as much

Lolovespark

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Hello! Our red foot is approximately 6 months old. We have had issues keeping the temp and humidity up in his habitat. The past few days he has been lethargic, not eating as much and when we do his soaks he doesn’t come out of his shell right away as he used to. Today we switched out his substrate, we’ve been using ecoearth and cypress mulch, but today I added orchid/for bark. We had been using a room humidifier without success, so I ordered a mini desk humidifier. The temp is 75 degrees with a new improved humidity of 75% (it was usually between 40-50%). I will attach pics of his habitat..... the heating bulb is ceramic and 100 watts. He had been sitting out more often (he usually gobbles down his radiccio) then high tails it, and burrows. Other than waiting and watching to see if the higher humidity helps.... does anyone have any sugggestions? Also he usually defecates at the end of his soak.... he hasn’t done that in at least 3-5 days.... however there was feces on his tile when we cleaned his house today. More than usual. Thank you!!!!
 

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Toddrickfl1

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75 is a little on the cool side. Aim for 84-86f thru out the enclosure. It's going to be tough keeping the right temp and humidity witb an open top enclosure though unless you find a way to make a lid to cover it.
 

Lolovespark

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We put a piece of plexiglass on top...... I could move it so it’s covering more of the open space. With it warming up and way better humidity how long should it take to see a move in the right direction? His color on his head already looks better, but he’s still pretty bad. Thanks again!
 

ZEROPILOT

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What are you feeding him?
Is he drinking?
Do you have a UV source?
A baby that is acting outwardly sick needs help immediately.
Any additional help would be fantastic.
 

Lolovespark

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What are you feeding him? Radicchio, it’s the only thing he will eat besides fresh dandelions and clover (live in Illinois)

Is he drinking? When I put him in for his soak (usually twice a day x 15 min, now 3-4 times x 10 min) he appears to be drinking but not as vigorously as before.

Do you have a UV source? Yes it’s a strip light version.

A baby that is acting outwardly sick needs help immediately.
Any additional help would be fantastic.

*** we just moved from Rockford to a small town called sandwich Illinois (35 min from aurora). If he hasn’t perked up w the changed I made today (way more humidy and slightly more heat I’m going to call the local vet and see what they say. They service farm animals from chickens to who knows what so maybe??? The will have some insight. I wish I had thought of the mini humidifier sooner. I got one for my desk at work as a gift and thought holy crap this would be perfect bc our room u it wasn’t cutting it.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Be careful
MOST vets know nothing about tortoises.
They may attempt to give him/her a vitamin A injection.
Do not let them do that.
@Yvonne G Can you suggest what to ask a vet for other than an xray? Maybe a poop exam?
 

Lolovespark

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Be careful
MOST vets know nothing about tortoises.
They may attempt to give him/her a vitamin A injection.
Do not let them do that.
@Yvonne G Can you suggest what to ask a vet for other than an xray? Maybe a poop exam?
Thank you I had a feeling finding a vet who knew about tortoises was not going to happen.
Good ideas! I could kick myself.... our daughter is charge of his daily care and when we cleaned his habitat (we spot clean once a week/big clean once a month) is when my husband noticed dried areas (on his tile) of liquid stool. I wonder if he has a parasite/Protozoa. Last night before bed (yes I’m up checking on him he’s still alive) I gave him a soak 50/50 unflavored pedialtye/water w a tablespoon of baby carrot.... then a water soak to wash it off. First time he’s opened his eyes in 2 days. Who knows if I did more harm than good.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Thank you I had a feeling finding a vet who knew about tortoises was not going to happen.
Good ideas! I could kick myself.... our daughter is charge of his daily care and when we cleaned his habitat (we spot clean once a week/big clean once a month) is when my husband noticed dried areas (on his tile) of liquid stool. I wonder if he has a parasite/Protozoa. Last night before bed (yes I’m up checking on him he’s still alive) I gave him a soak 50/50 unflavored pedialtye/water w a tablespoon of baby carrot.... then a water soak to wash it off. First time he’s opened his eyes in 2 days. Who knows if I did more harm than good.
Opening his eyes is a good sign.
It might be that he is being hydrated or that the humidity from the soak made his eyes more comfortable.
Redfoot CAN process sugars. Most tortoises cannot.
I use carrot, sweet potato or pear baby food. The sweeter pear often seems to stimulate an eating response.
I recently bought back from the brink of death a Redfoot that is stunted horribly. And part of that I give credit to fruit baby food soaks.
Now he eats without help.
 
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SPILL

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Thank you I had a feeling finding a vet who knew about tortoises was not going to happen.
Good ideas! I could kick myself.... our daughter is charge of his daily care and when we cleaned his habitat (we spot clean once a week/big clean once a month) is when my husband noticed dried areas (on his tile) of liquid stool. I wonder if he has a parasite/Protozoa. Last night before bed (yes I’m up checking on him he’s still alive) I gave him a soak 50/50 unflavored pedialtye/water w a tablespoon of baby carrot.... then a water soak to wash it off. First time he’s opened his eyes in 2 days. Who knows if I did more harm than good.
The U of I clinic is good with tortoises. From Sandwich it is a little over two hours to Champaign. They have a closer satellite office in Chicago but I don't know anything about that location.
 

Lolovespark

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Opening his eyes is a good sign.
It might be that he is being hydrated or that the humidity from the soak made his eyes more comfortable.
Redfoot CAN process sugars. Most tortoises cannot.
I use carrot, sweet potato or pear baby food. The sweeter pear often seems to stimulate an eating response.
I just got done doing a 50/50 pedialyte/ water mix w carrots mixed in, followed by a 10 min steam shower, He gives me the stink eye but will not eat I tried strawberry and his go to radiccio... and nothing. No poops or pees that I’m aware of. He seems slightly more peppy than yesterday. I’m a certified nurse midwife so between being on call and worried about this guy.... I’m probably annoying the hell out of him! Thank you so much for your input!!!!
 

Lolovespark

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The U of I clinic is good with tortoises. From Sandwich it is a little over two hours to Champaign. They have a closer satellite office in Chicago but I don't know anything about that location.
Thank you I will look into that!!

still no eating. Did a pedialyte soak, followed by a warm water soak/shower (picture me and my 3 kids in the humid bathroom). He’s opening his eyes but zero interest in food. I put some diced fruit and greens in there.... I keep going in there hoping he’s moved a bit or eaten at least a small bite. I got a scale and he weighs 40 grams.....we’ve had him since 8/18.... not sure how old he was I guessed 2 months?
 

ZEROPILOT

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Can you find mangos in Illinois?
(Here they are laying all over the neighborhood)
When I was nursing my now legendary ill tortoise named Queen Bertha back to health. She hadn't eaten in months and was being fed by a tube surgically installed into her stomach.
What helped turn the tide for her was mango. Its sappy. Smelly. Sugary and all but irresistible to a tortoise.
I still feed my herd mango a few times a month.
See if you can find one at the grocery. A soft one. Place a piece in front of him in his soak.
It'd be worth the few bucks to try.
It would be a great energy boost for him.
 

Lolovespark

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Can you find mangos in Illinois?
(Here they are laying all over the neighborhood)
When I was nursing my now legendary ill tortoise named Queen Bertha back to health. She hadn't eaten in months and was being fed by a tube surgically installed into her stomach.
What helped turn the tide for her was mango. Its sappy. Smelly. Sugary and all but irresistible to a tortoise.
I still feed my herd mango a few times a month.
See if you can find one at the grocery. A soft one. Place a piece in front of him in his soak.
It'd be worth the few bucks to try.
It would be a great energy boost for him.

I’ll go to the store and buy a few! I just got done soaking him and usually I’ve got a tiny insulin/TB syringe ready to sneak a mini drop in his mouth if he opens it... of course the one time I didn’t have it ready.... big long yawn!
 

Lolovespark

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Does he submerge his head underwater and drink...Ever?
Often, when they drink, their heads are submerged.
His head is basically submerged the whole time which freaks me out. A week ago he would submerge, you could see him drinking then he would pop up and look around.... then after about 8-10 minutes try to escape and would poop in the process. His little hind legs have always looked tiny but he looks like he could never use his hind legs let alone stand on them. My husband is out getting the mangos as we speak!
 

Lolovespark

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He didn’t eat any of the mango.... he’s currently using a piece as a pillow. I soaked him in a pedialyte/carrot baby food mixture w the mango bits in it..... the only encouraging thing I have from the last warm soak he actually opened his mouth and took a drink.... I think/hope.
 

Lolovespark

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Omg! So I got home from doing a delivery (yes I’m a crazy cnm who is a tortoise stalker), and brought home some iv fluids... I pulled a Hail Mary... I soaked him in the same mixture I’ve been doing w mango... put him in the shower, cleaned off a spot and gave him 0.25 ml of normal saline.... he got pissed, man he has a lot more strength than I thought. He sat in the shower/tub for 10 more minutes. He drank. I put him in his house w the mango which he didn’t touch. I came back 30 minutes later.... he walked 8-10 inches and is burrowing! If he dies tonight I take full responsibility but as a nurse I could watch him just lie there any more! Tomorrow I have clinic all day and so help me my hubby and kids better keep up his soaks and trying to get him to eat!!
 

Lolovespark

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Just an update.... he had been doing better was gaining weight. Past 2 days moving his substrate and moss around like crazy, not eating again but not lethargic.... so we upped his soaks to three times daily again. I just came home from work... on lunch.... Picked him up and noticed a piece of mulch in his mouth. I pulled it out.... it was at least 1/2 inch impaled if not more. He’s dead. I feel terrible!
 

willee638

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Hello! Our red foot is approximately 6 months old. We have had issues keeping the temp and humidity up in his habitat. The past few days he has been lethargic, not eating as much and when we do his soaks he doesn’t come out of his shell right away as he used to. Today we switched out his substrate, we’ve been using ecoearth and cypress mulch, but today I added orchid/for bark. We had been using a room humidifier without success, so I ordered a mini desk humidifier. The temp is 75 degrees with a new improved humidity of 75% (it was usually between 40-50%). I will attach pics of his habitat..... the heating bulb is ceramic and 100 watts. He had been sitting out more often (he usually gobbles down his radiccio) then high tails it, and burrows. Other than waiting and watching to see if the higher humidity helps.... does anyone have any sugggestions? Also he usually defecates at the end of his soak.... he hasn’t done that in at least 3-5 days.... however there was feces on his tile when we cleaned his house today. More than usual. Thank you!!!!
That's a very proper enclosure for a baby red foot, I had the exact same situation a couple of weeks ago with my red foot tortoise as it's also winter in my region but reasonably mild so far. She became inactive after only a few days of bringing her home, at first she behaved normally but soon seldom ate or roamed around like in the earlier days. I decided to take her out to a park to bask in real natural sunlight for an hour & fed her edible flowers & green leaves & now the situation has improved drastically as I now take her out for sun 3 times weekly from 1 to 2 hours at a time, she still hides under shades as this is a normal behaviour for red foots.
 

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